Understanding growth and color

HeavyHittah

LivingReefs is like home
Hey everyone,
just want to make sure that I understand coral growth and color pertaining to spectrum.
Assuming all tanks parameters are on par, a spectrum of about 20k will yield better growth of both soft, Lps corals and coralline algae. A spectrum of around 6500 will yield better color. Also better growth rate for sps. So for sps dominant use 6500, for mixed reef use 15k,and soft/lps/zoa tank use 20k. Do I understand right?
 
I think you have your numbers reversed. The higher up you get, the more blue things are. So 20K is very blue, and pleasing to the eye (it makes colors look phosphorescent), but 10K (which is more yellow and not as attractive looking) is better for growth. That's why people get a balance of the two in their tanks.
 
Ok. I see. We kinda said the same thing but not quite. So corals wont "color up" under a more 20k light. But their phosphorence will just pop more? What situation is needed to make corals color up instead of just pop?
 
No, they do color up more under 20K. The higher you go, the better the coloration. The lower you go, the more yellow/brown the color and the better the growth.

It all depends on what your visual preference is. I like 12K or 15K. Somewhere in the middle. To me, 20K is just too blue, and 10K is just too yellow. That's why people use a mix of bulbs (with T5), or usually supplement MH with T5 bulbs to balance out color. I can't speak for the LED folks, though.
 
Back
Top